Basketball rebound practice device



Feb.

F. R- GOURDOUZE BASKETBALL REBOUND PRACTICE DEVICE Filed Feb. 7, 1961 Fig. 4

Frank R- Gourdouz'e IN VEN TOR.

v 74 BY United States Patent 3,023,001 BASKETBALL REBOUND PRACTICE DEVICE Frank R. Gourdouze, Box 259, Westfield, Ind. Filed Feb. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 87,662 13 Claims. (Cl. 273-) This invention comprises a novel and useful basketball rebound practice device and more particularly relates to an apparatus to afford practice to basketball players and particularly to facilitate the development of jumping of the players and technique in offensive or defensive rebounding from the backboard and in tipping a ball into the basket.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a basketball rebound practice device specifically adapted to facilitate the practicing of basketball players in the art of rebounding and in tipping the ball into the basket.

A further object of the invention is to provide a practice device in accordance with the preceding object which may be applied to regulation backboards of different sizes in a quickly attachable or readily removable manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rebounding device in which a tethered basketball is supported in various adjusted positions both vertically and laterally with respect to the backboard and basket, as desired.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device in accordance with the preceding objects wherein a tethered basketball is held for limited movement at the front face of a backboard adjacent a basket while means for adjusting the height of the basketball and for anchoring the tethering cord are mounted upon the back face of the backboard.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device which will permit a great variety of adjustments in the position of the tethered basketball with respect to a basket and the backboard in order to'fully simulate substantially all of the positions of a ball in play during a basketball game with reference to a backboard.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device in accordance with the preceding objects wherein the vertical positioning of the basketball may be readily adjusted from the floor and without the necessity for the use of stepladders or the like.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device in accordance with the preceding objects wherein the various components of the device are of simple and inexpensive construction, easily appliedor removed and 'are readily adjusted as conditions require.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed. reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view showing the manner in which the principles of this invention are applied to a conventional basketball backboard and basket;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view taken upon an enlarged scale upon the right end of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a detail view taken in vertical transverse section substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and showing in particular the manner in which the support arm by which the basketball is tethered is removably and adjustably mounted upon the backboard;

FIGURE 4 is a further detail view in vertical section taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4-4 of FIGURE 2 and showing the manner in which the locking mechanism for the tethering cord anchor means is mounted upon the anchor means and a guide rail element of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 55 of FIGURE 2 and showing further details of the mounting of the anchor means of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view, parts being broken away, of an adjusting implement which may be used to facilitate adjustment of the tethered basketball.

In order to facilitate practicing under simulated game conditions by basketball players in that phase of the game which involves backboard rebounding and tipping of the ball into the basket, the present invention utilizes an adjustably positioned tethered basketball capable of suflicient movement to enable it to be manipulated upon the backboard and with respect to the basket. By virtue of the tethered condition, considerable time can be saved during a period of practicing since the basketball always remains in substantial juxtaposition to the backboard and basket so that the entire eiforts of the players can be directed to practicing this particular phase of the game and the necessity for retrieving the ball is eliminated. The device further utilizes a construction in which the vertical position of the basketball with respect to the backboard and basket can be varied in order to give the desired practice to the players in jumping; and .in which the lateral position of the basketball with respect to the basket and the forward spacing of the basketball from the front face of the backboard can all be varied as desired.

In the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1! indicates a regulation or standard backboard which can be of any of the accepted sizes and positions, the backboard being mounted as usual by mounting supports as shown at 12 and 14. Preferably the invention is applied to a standard backboard as mounted on a basketball court although it will be appreciated that the invention may be applied to specifically constructed backboards for practice purposes.

Shown mounted upon the backboard in the usual manner is a basket consisting of the hoop 16 which as usual is fixedly secured to the front face of the backboard as by mounting bracket 18. Inasmuch as the details of the backboard, the basket and its mounting form no part of the invention claimed herein, and are well understood by those skilled in the art, a further description thereof is deemed to be unnecessary.

In accordance with this invention there is provided a basketball 20 which may be a regulation basketball or one closely simulating the same and which is suitably tethered to an end portion as by a snap fastener 22 of a tethering. cord 24. This cord is supported and is adjusted to various positions with respect to the backboard and basket by the means to be now described and which forms the subject matter of this invention.

Referring primarily to FIGURE 3 in conjunction with FIGURES 1 and 2 it will be observed that a support member indicated generally by the numeral 26 is secured in fixed relation to overlie the upper end of the backboard 10 and to serve as a means for adjustably supporting a tethering cord 24. The support means preferably comprises a channel member 30 having its opposite end portions overlying and spaced from the front and back faces of the backboard. Journaled within the side walls of the channel member 30 at the opposite ends thereof are a pair of guide means in the form of pulleys 32 over which the cord 24 is entrained.

A mounting means is provided to adjustably support the support member 26 upon the top edge of the backboard 10 in laterally adjusted position thereon. This means includes a pair of clamp jaws 34 which if desired may be in the form of a unitary U-shaped bracket or channel member and which jaws embrace the front and back faces of the upper portion of the backboard, and may be securely fastened thereto as by fastening screws or the like as shown at 36. Secured to and rising from the clamp jaws is a U-shaped bracket 38 which is of sufficient size to straddle the channel member 30 as shown clearly in FIGURE 3. A wing bolt 40 threaded through the bracket 38 serves to engage and clamp the channel member 30 in various adjusted positions so as to vary the position of the basketball 20 with respect to the front face of the backboard in a manner which will be readily apparent from a consideration of FIGURE 2.

The other end portion of the tethering cord 24 disposed upon the back face of the backboard is secured to an anchor means 42 which preferably includes a spool or reel 44 upon which the tethering cord is wound. Means are provided for slidably and adjustably supporting the anchor means so that the same may be raised or lowered to thus further facilitate in a rapid manner the adjustment of the height of the basketball with respect to the basket and backboard. It will be appreciated that adjustments of a more permanent nature may be made by merely rotating the reel 44 whereby to increase or shorten the length of the cord extending between the anchor means and the tethered basketball.

To support the anchor means upon the backboard and permit vertical adjustment of the same relative thereto there is provided a guide rail 46 extending in a generally vertical direction upon the backboard, this guide rail preferably consisting of a rod or pipe having its upper end pivotally secured as by a pivot pin to the channel member 30. Conveniently, the axle upon which the guide pulley 32 at the back end of the support member is journaled may be employed for this purpose. At its lower end, the guide rail 46 is preferably provided with an open bore 48 therein in which is received the upper end of a support pin 50, a setscrew 52 being provided to rigidly secure these two members together in adjusted position. The pin 50 in turn is carried by a sleeve 54 provided with a setscrew 56 so that this sleeve which is slidable upon the horizontally extending arm 58 of a bracket 60 may be readily adjusted thereon. In this manner, it is obvious that the guide rail may readily accommodate itself to different lengths or heights of backboards and may be positioned readily at different distances from the back face of the backboard.

A slide is provided indicated generally by the numeral 70 which is rigidly secured to and supports the anchor means 42 and which slidably mounts the latter upon the guide rail 46. The slide 70, as shown in FIGURE 5, is preferably a U-shaped member having its parallel side flanges 72 embracing and secured to the opposite sides of the anchor means 42. Projecting laterally from the slide 70 in opposite directions from the anchor means 42 is a pair of cylindrical sleeves 74 disposed in spaced relation and which, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, slidably embrace or engage the guide rail 46 for vertical travel thereon. The sleeve 74 although shown as completely encircling and embracing the guide rail 46 in FIG- URE 5, may if desired be of arcuate extent only and only partially embrace the rail, it being merely necessary that they serve to retain for sliding adjustment upon the guide rail the anchor means 42.

A locking means is provided for releasably securing the slide and the anchor mean carried thereby in vertically adjusted position upon the rail. This locking means is of any conventional design, preferably consisting of a pair of vertically spaced clips; 76 with a compression spring 78 disposed therebetween. These clips are also slidable upon the guide rail and are urged against the adjacent ends of the two sleeves 74 as shown in FIG- URE 4. The clips constitute a conventional type of locking means in which the apertures through the clips have their axes oppositely inclined so that when the clips are in their normal position as shown in FIGURE 4, they will lock the slide against either upward or downward travel. However, by tilting the appropriate clip, the locking engagement effected by the inclined axes of the apertures of the clips will be disengaged and the slide may be moved upwardly or downwardly upon the rail as desired.

In order to facilitate operation of the locking means by a person upon the floor, an implement such as that shown in FIGURE 6 may be employed, the same including a relatively long straight handle as at 80 having a laterally projecting finger 82 at its upper end. In use the finger may be placed against the appropriate clip and by applying pressure thereto may release the appropriate lock so that the desired movement may be effected of the slide and anchor means and thus vary the position of the tethered ball with respect to the backboard and basket.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A basketball rebound practice device comprising a backboard having a basketball hoop mounted on the front face thereof, a support member disposed above the top of said backboard and having ends overlying the front and back faces of the latter, a basketball disposed adjacent the front face of said backboard, a tethering cord having one portion secured to said basketball for suspending the later for movement relative to the backboard and hoop, means on said ends of said support member for slidably supporting said tethering cord, anchor means on the back face of said backboard to which another portion of said tethering cord is secured, mounting means on said backboard supporting said anchor means for vertical adjustment on said backboard.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said anchor means includes a reel upon which said tethering cord is wound.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said support member comprises a channel member, said means for slidably supporting said tethering cord comprises guide pulleys journaled in said channel member.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein said channel member has a pair of transversely extending parallel clamp jaws by which it is removably secured to said backboard.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein said clamp jaws are fixedly attached to a U-shaped bracket straddling said channel member, a fastener carried by said bracket and engaging said channel member for releasably securing the latter to said clamp jaws.

6. The combination of claim 1, wherein said last mentioned means comprises a guide rail mounted on said backboard and extending vertically of the latter, said anchor means being slidably mounted on said guide rail, means for releasably locking said anchor means in adjusted positions upon said guide rail.

7. The combination of claim 6 including a slide movably secured to said guide rail, said anchor means being secured to and carried by said slide.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein said locking means are carried by said slide.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein said slide includes spaced sleeves slidably encircling said guide rail.

10. The combination of claim 9, wherein said locking means are disposed between said sleeves.

11. The combination of claim 1, wherein said last mentioned. means comprises a guide rail mounted on said backboard and extending vertically of the latter, said anchor means being slidably mounted on said guide rail, means for releasably locking said anchor means in adjusted positions upon said guide rail, a slide movably secured to said guide rail, said anchor means being secured to and carried by said slide and said guide rail.

12. The combination of claim 11, wvherein said slide includes spaced sleeves slidably encircling said guide rail, and wherein said locking means are disposed between said sleeves.

13. The combination of claim 1, wherein said last mentioned means comprises a guide rail mounted on said 6 backboard and extending vertically of the latter, said anchor means being slidably mounted on said guide rail, means for releasably locking said anchor means in adjusted positions upon said guide rail, said guide rail 5 being attached to said support member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Haines Dec. 21, 1954 2,839,300 Blaha et al. June 17, 1958 

